


you should probably stay here with me

by wolfwalkerspirit



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Modern AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfwalkerspirit/pseuds/wolfwalkerspirit
Summary: Byleth takes Claude ice skating for the holidays.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	you should probably stay here with me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ibrokeeverything](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibrokeeverything/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, ibrokeeverything! 
> 
> (Also, this is a modern AU where Byleth was a TA in one of Claude’s classes. Enjoy!)

Claude smiled like the sun. Always bright and warm, Byleth couldn’t help but feel it’s pull. He was radiant, and could light up a room like no one else. When his eyes crinkled at the corners with a grin, genuine and true, he was breathtaking. Whether lovestruck or laughing, scheming or sweet, Byleth fell a little more in love with every smile. And with how much more freely those smiles were coming recently, she was certain that Claude would hold her heart in his hands for a long, long time. And that suited her just fine. 

But he wasn’t smiling now. 

“Really, ice skating?” he asked hesitantly, hardly bothering to hide the uncertain furrow of his brow. The barest hint of a frown ghosted across his lips as he gazed out at the ice, fingers curling around the railing.

Byleth only shrugged, nudged his shoulder with her own. “You’ve never been, right?” she asked, even though she was fairly sure already. Claude had always harbored a certain... distaste for the cold, and ice skating didn’t exactly seem like something he would have tried on his own. But it was nearly Christmas, and Byleth thought it sounded like fun to go together. 

Nodding in reply, Claude shifted his attention from the ice and skaters milling about to Byleth. “There’s a reason for that,” he said, a bit of dry laughter in his tone. Even if it was unsure, the sound warmed Byleth’s heart. She reached out and folded her hand over his where it was holding to the railing that separated them from the rink. Without a second thought towards it, almost like a reflex, he laced his fingers with hers. 

“And? What is it?” Byleth asked, raising a brow. 

“I don’t know how,” Claude replied, just a little pensive. Though, after a beat, a grin broke out across his lips in earnest, cheeky and teasing. “I think I found someone to help me with that, though,” he said, gazing down at her with bright eyes. 

“You’ll come, then?” she asked, something warm and hopeful rising in her chest. It was simple moments like that when she realized how much Claude had opened her heart over the years. The stony cold she knew for so long was gone, replaced with something soft, something fluttering. Love, if she needed a word.

“As long as you’re willing to put up with me embarrassing you,” he said, laughing. Giving a fond roll of her eyes, Byleth held his hand just a little tighter and pulled him along to go get skates. 

Once skates were rented, pulled on, and laced up, they made their way to the rink, Byleth on much steadier legs than Claude. While she was by no means an expert, she had skated a few times, on a frozen pond once with Jeralt as a kid, and more recently at this same rink with Annette and Mercedes. Mercedes was a natural, like she had been skating her whole life, and Byleth learned more by watching her than anything else. 

Stepping out onto the ice, Byleth held out her hand for Claude, who still stood hesitantly on solid ground. It was certainly a new look for him, as he was usually so confident and assured. It was cute, though, even if she would never tell him that. “Come on,” she called, adjusting her footing just slightly. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Claude placated with a chuckle. More smoothly than Byleth had guessed, he took her hand and slid out onto the ice, steady enough to be passable. 

Still, as they made their way away from the safety of the railing, he was beginning to look more and more like an unsteady fawn. Brows knitted together in concentration, he clung tight to Byleth’s hand as she led him out into the center of the rink. 

“This is seriously harder than it looks, and I never thought it looked easy,” Claude remarked, good natured. 

“That’s because you’re trying to walk, not skate,” Byleth replied, nudging his skate back down with her own when he attempted to step forward. “Think about pushing yourself forward rather than stepping forward,” she instructed, thinking back on what Mercedes had told Annette, who was having a bit of a hard time. 

“Alright, Teach,” Claude replied, a bit of a teasing grin tugging at his lips. 

For a moment, Byleth stopped, gazing back at him, at pretty, green eyes and a warm smile. It felt like such a long time since he had called her that, having switched to calling her by her name when they started dating. Memories came flooding back, of endlessly helping him with homework she was fairly confident he could finish in his sleep, of chatting in classrooms until the sunset turned them golden. Then, of strange, sparking tension and gazes that burned and lingered, of stolen kisses that took root and blossomed into something far more than that early magnetic attraction. 

Then, Byleth was unceremoniously yanked from her reverie when Claude clipped her skate and sent both of them tumbling to the ice. They landed in a heap of limbs, dusted with frost from the frenzy of skates digging into and tearing up the ice in an attempt to stay upright. Untangling herself from him, Byleth sat herself up in Claude’s lap, pulling him up with her. 

“My bad,” he chuckled, almost sheepishly rubbing at the back on his neck. Byleth thought she caught a dusting of something rosy across his cheeks, too, but couldn’t be sure if it was only the cold. 

In any case, she found herself laughing along with him, something warm and light swelling in her chest. And then, in an instant, her heart was tripping over itself when he leaned in close, wrapping an arm around her waist. In a soft press of lips, he stole away her laughter and her breath in one sweep. Even in the warmth, the familiarity of the gesture, Byleth still found herself awed and a little dizzy when he finally pulled away, looking at her like she was more precious than the stars in the sky. She would never get used to the way it felt when he kissed her, all love and care and sweetness. Even when he teased, teeth grazing over her lips, mouth settling low beneath her jaw, there was still an earnestness to everything he did that made Byleth’s heart melt. 

“What was that about?” she questioned, still just a little breathless. 

For a beat, he only hummed, considering. “I just felt like it,” he grinned. Fondly, he brushed a hand along her cheek, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Sometimes it just hits me how lucky I am to have you,” he said, still smiling like it was the easiest thing it the world to say things like that. 

Byleth only smiled back, something sunny unfurling in her heart. Then, someone skated past and served to remind her they were still sitting in the middle of an ice rink. Mindful of her skates, she untangled herself from Claude and got back to her feet. Though, he looked perfectly content lounging on the ice, making no move to get up. 

“Come on, back to skating. We’re getting our money’s worth,” Byleth said, extending a hand in offering. Though, she was sure she had already gotten more than enough enjoyment out of the date already, glad not only to see a new side of Claude, but his same teases and warm smiles too. Even if they never made it a lap around the rink, she was happy to just spend the time with him.


End file.
